DOVER — Residents from around the Tri-City area are expected to flock to Dover for the city's annual Independence Day celebration today, which includes free family activities, musical entertainment and a fireworks show at the conclusion of the evening.

Festivities will kick off at 10 a.m. with a reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of City Hall by the Garrison Players, a community theater group that has been performing on the Fourth of July for many years.

Events at the Rotary Arts Pavilion at Henry Law Park will begin at 5 p.m. with a performance by the Dover Community Band. Following them at 6 p.m. will be The 39th Army Band of New Hampshire, which also performed during last year's Independence Day celebrations.

“Our entertainment lineup this year really speaks to being Dover,” says Michael Mengers, community events manager for the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce, which puts on the evening's festivities. “The fact that the New Hampshire Army Band requests to come to Dover — that's a great honor for us. It's a very Dover-centric feel.”

The Dover-based 80s tribute band Gazpacho, back for a second straight Fourth of July, will round out the musical performances with a two-hour set.

“It was great last year,” band member Gary Leighton said. “I'm definitely looking forward to it. It's kind of neat to have a show where the kids are out and have a good time.”

Gazpacho's performance will start at 7:30 p.m. and continue through the beginning of the fireworks display, which is set to begin at 9:15 p.m. above lower Henry Law Park. Leighton says that the chance to play as fireworks explode overhead makes the experience more fun.

“It works out really neat because it gives a better musical setting to the fireworks” Leighton said. “You feel like you're in KISS. It's actually really, really cool.”

In addition to the musical performances, residents will have plenty to occupy them as they wait for the fireworks. The New Hampshire Children's Museum is providing a pair of activities, free of charge, in the lower portion of Henry Law Park from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Youngsters are invited to test their bubble-blowing skills with the use of extra-large bubble wands or to help with the creation of a large, collaborative American flag mosaic. The museum itself will be closed for the holiday, but the museum's director of marketing, Heidi Duncanson, said that they still wanted to find ways to participate in the city's celebrations.

“I think it will be really fun out there, and patriotic,” Duncanson said.

New Frontiers Church is hosting other arts and crafts activities while Play! will be providing a bounce house. Residents will not be short on food options, either. People will be able to purchase carnival-style food such as fried dough, cotton candy, pizza and more. Nearly 15,000 people are expected to attend throughout the evening, with nearly 10,000 viewing the fireworks.

The celebrations provide an opportunity not only for Dover residents to meet with their community, but for visitors to experience what Dover has to offer.

“For me, what it signifies, it's the kickoff of summer,” Mengers said. “It's getting people active and getting them out and participating. We love people coming from other towns to see all the activity that goes on in Dover, to eat at our restaurants and shop at our stores.”

Dover's Independence Day festivities are free of charge, but donations ($3 for individuals, $8 for families) are encouraged. For more information about Dover's Fourth of July activities, visit http://www.dovernh.org/July4th.